From their EPK, “When instrumental Doom act OMEGA MASSIF announced its break-up, members Andreas Schmittfull and Christof Rath reformed under the name PHANTOM WINTER. The aim was to create extreme music. They called the style "Winterdoom.” The fourth album “Her Cold Materials” (the name is derived from Philip Pullman's cycle of novels, “His Dark Materials”, about a teenage girl who must find herself and save her world) is a coming-of-age folk horror tale about an adolescent woman.” The album has six songs.

“Flamethrowers” is first. It’s a slow-moving song with harsh vocals and bell strikes to mark the doomy sound. It swells and retreats a couple of times, with eerie background noises, and the fuzz at the end furthers the hopeless feelings. “Her Wound is Grave” has more of a despondent groove from the hypnotic drumming and the lead guitar work imparts feelings of desperation. The long pause in the middle gives the listener a chance to reflect…and if it went on for any longer, the reflection might result in self-destruction. “When I Throw Up” is a shorter offering with plenty of power from the main riff. There is a hypnotic slow down with leads, clean vocals, and thick bass notes, and then a return to the opening sound.

“Shadow Barricade” has a lot of tension, and is marked by slower, thoughtful passages with spoken words, and an all-out assault with harsh vocals. “Dark Lanterns” begins with steady bass notes, spoken words and eerie leads. Again, there is a combination of power and refinement, but this pattern is getting too predictable. The ending, however, is a fantastic display of someone’s dreams going out the window. “The Unbeholden” closes the album. “Í kneel for no one” is the opening lyric. The tension is again very thick, and the band is adept at creating this effect. Another lyric line of “I owe you nothing human race” reinforces them theme of affirming free will.

Overall, this was one of the better Doom albums that I have heard this year. The songs are written with care and passion and the emotional peaks are noteworthy. Perhaps the best part if the way that the band is able to maintain a high level of tension from hardened passages to more ethereal ones…it make the desperation feel even worse.